Porsche Leads Night Practice as Vanthoor Tops Daytona IMSA Test
As the sun set over Daytona International Speedway, Laurens Vanthoor put Porsche at the top of the timing sheets during Saturday's night testing session. His 1m36.498s lap in the No. 7 963 led the GTP class, though it wasn't enough to beat the overall weekend benchmark set by his brother Dries (1m35.424s) in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 on Friday.
Red and white IMSA racecar
BMW showed strong pace throughout, securing second and third positions with Philipp Eng setting the team's fastest time of 1m36.498s in the No. 24 car, while the No. 25 followed 0.4s behind.
In LMP2, Inter Europol Competition dominated with Antonio Felix Da Costa posting a 1m39.618s, leading TDS Racing and Pratt Miller by 0.3s. The session saw a brief red flag when Era Motorsport's No. 18 ORECA went off at Turn 3 with Tobias Lutke at the wheel.
Porsche demonstrated overwhelming strength in GTD, claiming the top four positions. The No. 20 Proton 911 GT3 R 992 led with Thomas Preining's 1m48.034s, followed by Wright Motorsports, AO Racing's "Rexy," and Iron Dames. AWA's Corvette rounded out the top five as the best non-Porsche entry. The GTD field proved extremely competitive, with 31 of 36 cars setting times within the 1m48s range.
The Roar Before the 24 continues Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m. local time, with rain expected to affect the final day of testing.
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